Re: adhesion pain in the ER: a nurse's opinion
From: Tami Dana (tami_dana@hotmail.com)
Sat Jun 30 17:22:51 2001
At Tue, 19 Jun 2001, anonymous wrote:
>
>I found this site by accident and have read so many stories of
>"mistreatment" by nurses and doctors in ERs when you come to us in pain.
>I want you to think of it in our terms.
>
>You wander in day and night, most of you walking on your own, in no
>apparent acute distress.
>You register and wait, telling everyone in the busy waiting area that
>you MUST be seen immediately, "because you hurt so badly."
>You take up valuable space in busy trauma and emergency medicine
>departments complaining of terrible pain in your abdomen, and you tell
>us you must get pain meds for the pain.
>
>One a pain assessment scale of 1-10, virtually all of you cite between
>an 8 and a ten. But you aren't perspiring, crying, vomiting, bloated,
>or acting like you are acutely ill.
>
>Many of you refuse to have x-rays, scans and other diagnostic studies
>because you say "all those tests have been done a million times and they
>are always negative" but you demand pain medication!!
>You tell us you have adhesions but adhesions are nothing more than
>layers of scarring that have no nerve endings. How can this cause pain?
>
>I am told "I need 100 mg of Demerol, IM " by someone who refuses to
>allow us to examine them, and when we refuse to give you narcotics you
>become upset.
>
>What do you want from us? If every drug addict walked into my ER and did
>what many of you do, they'd be booted out by Security but for some
>reason, you feel we are treating you unfairly??
>
>Maybe instead of asking for pain medication, you might benefit from
>talking to a therapist who can help you deal with your "pain"?
>
>If we do an MRI or flat plate and see something suspicious., of course
>you'll be treated aggressively, and receive sympathy and medication.
>Otherwise, please understand, we are not a narcotic dispensing
>department for everyone with indigestion or cramps.
I KNOW that so many of you have replied and I am also replying a bit
late, and it is probably pointless to reply..but I am going to do it
anyway!
I have SO much to say about this and I am SO angry right now, I don't
know where to start =*(
I wish I had a quarter for everytime I was told by someone in the
medical "Profession" (I use the term profession loosely) that adhesions
DO NOT hurt, if I did, I would have enough money to buy a car!! What I
am about to say might sound terrible, I am sorry if it does..but it is
the truth and I think that I need to say it... Before I found my PCP
and before I had insurance, when I would have a severe pain flair-up, I
would have to go to the ER, after going there a few times and being
treated like a junkie looking to get high (they treated me this way when
I told them of my ARD and ovarian, hernia, and MANY surgery that I had),
they would KILL me with the pelvic exams, vaginal ultrasounds, poking
and prodding me..then give me a shot of Toradol and send me home, so
basically I would go home feeling even WORSE than when I got to the ER.
Anyway, after going through this a few times... I went to the ER one
night at about 2am in excruciating pain from ARD and my other problems
and I was close to just ending it all and commiting suicide.. my
husband was a wreck and didn't know what to do, he wanted to call the
squad and I said NO! But finally, I couldn't take the pain so agreed to
go to the ER... this is the part that I am sure I will hear about from
a few people, but, here goes. When I got to the ER, I told them that I
had fallen down the stairs on the way to the restroom.. I told them
that I hurt my hip and my butt... and guess what?
They treated me SUPER, they gave me a pain shot before sending me for
x-rays, then sent me home with strong pain meds and muscle relaxers...
When I got home, although I did feel better and the pain was tolerable,
I began to cry, and cry, and cry... It was awful! =*( I was SO guilt
ridden for what I had just done, I almost contemplated going back to the
ER and telling them and then screaming at them that it was horrible that
I had to lie to them just to have them treat me like a human being and
not a junkie! At the time that this happened, I had no insurance, no
doctor because I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket, and I was
desperate for SOME kind of relief and some sleep, sleep is a luxury to
me, it was then and still is now... but anyway... I think that we live
in a SORRY ass (pardon my mouth) country when someone has to lie to get
proper care, treated like a human being, and to get a little compassion
from the ER. I have never done that except that one time, there was NO
way I could, even though I felt that I HAD to do it in order to get
care, the guilt was horrible and I KNOW I wouldn't be able to live with
myself if I did it again. Luckily I got insurance shortly after that
happened and found my current PCP, he is wonderful and has bent over
backwards to help me... BUT there are still times when I have to go to
the ER because my pain meds aren't working and then I get scared that
maybe something ruptured inside me or I have another blockage or
impacted again.. so reluctently I go..and you know what?? Nothing has
changed. They STILL treat me like snot and like I am searching for a
"high", they still give me a HARSH pelvic exam when they don't have to..
and they still tell me adhesions do NOT hurt and I need to go talk to my
doctor about it. Nothing changes and nothing will change until more
doctors and nurses educate themselves on ARD, we will keep being accused
of "drug seeking" or it just being in our heads... it makes me sick =*(
We do not live in a primative country, but when it comes to health care
for ARD sufferers, we might as well live in a third world country.
I guess what I am trying to say is this.. because of that time I had to
lie to get help from the ER, and now that I found this site and see that
I am not the only one going through this pain and bullcrap..I am also
kinda sure that I am not the only that has ever went to the ER and lied
just to get relief from this agonizing pain. So, maybe when the ER
nurses and doctors see someone coming to the ER alot or maybe not even
alot but they have been there a couple times with complaints of pain due
to ARD, and the docs and nurses can't SEE anything wrong, they
automatically lable them as a "drug seeker" and if you go back to the ER
with the same complaints of pain...they won't help you. BUT if you go
in for something else..they will, that is NOT right and there is NO
reason why anyone should have to lie to get some help! ARD is as REAL as
any other disease that causes pain, it is as real as cancer... if you
go to the ER for pain caused by cancer, the nurses and doctors bend over
backwards to take care of you and kill the pain, but go there for ARD
and they treat you like you are a junkie coming in for a "fix", it is
NOT fair! It isn't fair that I had to lie to get help, and it isn't fair
that right now as you read this, someone is at the ER dying in pain from
ARD and they HAVE to make up a story just to get relief, or they just
don't get any help at all, they get examined, poked, more pain put upon
them and then get told nothing is wrong and sent home. I don't know
about anyone else's experiences at the ER, but that is how it always
goes for me..and like I said, since I know now that I am not alone with
ARD, I know other people are out there going through the same thing as I
did (and still do). When is this ever going to stop?
I made the decision that I am never going back to the ER again... if my
pain meds aren't working, then I will call my doctor..I told my husband
my decision and he is NOT happy but he is also not happy about the
treatment I always recieve from the ER whenever I have been there, so
although he worries about me, he respects my decision... and I mean it
100%, I would rather die than to go to the ER 1 more time and get put in
more pain then accused and treated like a junkie.
Thanks everyone for listening to me.. I wrote a whole lot more than I
had planned on...sorry =*( I also apologize to anyone that I may have
offended by telling my story... I only wanted to let little miss
anonymous know that because of the treatment her and ALOT of medical
people give to us, this is ONE of the things we have to resort to just
to get a little relief and help...
*Hugs*
--
With love and understanding,
Tami Dana
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